Helga Jean loved to play. Her favorite toy was a doll named Abby. Abby had red yarn hair, a button nose, and a baby blue dress. Helga quite liked her and took her everywhere.
She took her to the park.
She took her to school.
She took her to the store.
And everywhere they went, people would say, “Hello, Helga. Hello, Miss Dolly.” They were very kind to the two of them.
One night at dinner, Helga ate her dinner with Abby on her lap. She took spoonfuls of potato and gravy and smeared them against Abby’s mouth.
“Dear, we’re going to have to clean that doll,” Helga’s mother told her.
“Will I get her back before bed?” Helga asked sweetly.
“Of course, sweetheart.”
Her mother put Abby in the wash, and the machine spun around and around, getting all the stains out. Then Abby went in the dryer for a quick blow-dry. Afterwards, she was ready for bed.
Helga held Abby close to her as she laid in bed. Her father tucked her in, saying, “You sure do like that doll.”
“She’s the best doll in the world,” Helga boasted. “If only she were real.”
“Well, that’s a grand idea,” her father said and kissed her goodnight.
Helga closed her eyes and yawned until she gently fell asleep with Abby nestles in her arms.
“Excuse me.”
A little voice woke Helga up in the middle of the night. There was a man sitting on the side of her bed. He was skinny with long, white grandpa-hair and a spooky top hat wrapped in purple ribbon.
“Who are you?” Helga asked.
“I hear you have a wish for me,” the man smiled. No matter how hard Helga looked, she could not find his eyes. They must have been under his hat, she thought.
“Are you a genie?” Helga asked.
“I’m like one,” he said. “You want to make your doll real.”
“Yes,” Helga sat up and hugged Abby tighter. “Yes, I think that’d be amazing.”
“Well, I can make her alive, but I need something in return,” the man told her.
“I’ll give you any toy you want. Abby is all I need,” Helga insisted.
“I don’t want your toys,” the man kindly declined. “What Abby needs is someone to switch places with.”
“Switch places?” Helga thought.
“Yes, do you know anyone who would do such a thing?” he asked.
“No,” the girl sighed and looked at her doll’s sewn-on smile. Her face was happy, but in her glossy button eyes, she saw tears. “I’ll do it,” Helga agreed. “I’ll do anything for my Abby.”
“Then we have a deal,” the man said, shaking her hand. Then he reached over and patted her head. “Go to sleep now, and tomorrow you get your wish,” he said, running a finger along Abby’s face.
Helga closed her eyes and let her head hit her pillow. That night, she dreamt of fire and smoke. Very peculiar.

Helga opened her eyes, and the world had grown in her sleep. She looked around and found herself swimming through the covers. Beside her was a large girl, sound asleep with red hair and a button nose.
Helga looked at her hand and saw she had doll mitts. She looked across the room to her mirror and discovered she was a doll. A cloth doll like Abby was with orange hair in her yellow pajamas. That means her dream was true.
“Abby! Abby!” Helga whispered as loud as she could as she shook the girl’s side. “Wake up! Wake up! You’re alive!”
The red-haired girl mumbled until she blinked her eyes awake. “What?” she muttered and shrieked at the sound of her own voice. She fell out of bed onto the floor. “What…What is this?” she asked, fumbling around. Looking at her hands, her hair and her baby blue dress.
“You’re alive, Abby,”...